Passing as Elias - By Kate Bloomfield Page 0,12
he had gone missing. Elizabeth would be the only person to realise that he had gone. She decided that she would enter his home tonight, wether the door was locked or not, for she needed to know that he was most definitely not inside.
Closing time could not come quick enough for Elizabeth, and at the sound of the tower clock chiming six she ushered out the stragglers from the apothecary and locked the door behind her. Dusk was falling, and she walked at a quick pace to the Professor’s house, only a few streets away.
Reaching his doorstep, Elizabeth banged loudly upon the wooden door.
‘Professor!’ She called through the mail slot, ‘Professor de Bard! Are you in there?’
At that moment the Professor’s neighbour stepped out of their own door, and looked at Elizabeth curiously, ‘Wot chuu yellin’ for?’
‘Excuse me, Ma’am, have you seen Professor de Bard at all over the last few days?’
The woman frowned, ‘I ain’t seen ‘im all week long. Never seen ‘im much anyways. Quiet fing ‘ee is.’ She had a high, annoying voice, with an accent even more common than Elizabeth’s.
‘Have you not heard him through your shared wall?’ Elizabeth asked nervously.
‘Not a whisper.’ She replied, ‘Odd fellow, in’ee? Are you ‘is daughter? On’y I never seen him ‘ave family round before.’
‘No … No.’ Elizabeth cursed under her breath and banged upon the door again, ‘Professor … I am … I am coming in!’ She shouted. People’s heads were poking out of their kitchen windows here and there along the street, wondering what the commotion was.
Trying the doorknob again Elizabeth found, without surprise, that it was still locked. Taking a deep breath Elizabeth threw her shoulder against the door, only causing her immense pain. Wincing, she looked up and down the street before hitching her dress up to her knees, lifting a leg, and kicking the door as hard as she could. It did not budge. She tried again. Six kicks later and the door finally flew open with a loud bang, bouncing off the wall. Elizabeth caught the door before it rebounded shut again, and stepped over the threshold. The house was eerily silent, and immensely dark, as no lamps were lit. Allowing her eyes to adjust, Elizabeth stepped down the Professor’s narrow hall, the floorboards creaking ominously as she walked.
‘Professor?’ She called, ‘Are you home?’
As she had expected, only silence greeter her. Elizabeth checked the sitting room, kitchen, and the cupboard under the stairs before making her way upstairs and onto the landing. Once at the top there were two doors on either side of her. Turning to her left Elizabeth tried the first door. She opened it noiselessly to find herself inside the Professor’s washroom. It was small, and dark, with a basin in one corner, a rack of washcloths, and a small tub in the other corner. No one was inside this room, though a rather foul smelled had reached her nose. Sniffing, Elizabeth found that the smell was stronger upon the landing. She stepped out of the washroom, closing the door with a snap behind her. The smell was so putrid that she was avoiding breathing through her nose at all costs. There was only one place the smell could be coming from. Elizabeth made her way to the second door upon the landing, and reached out a hand to take the doorknob. Could the stench be some kind of new concoction the Professor had left brewing whilst taking a leave of absence? She turned the doorknob and cracked open the door by an inch. The first thing she noticed was a strange buzzing sound that seemed to be coming from inside the room. The atrocious smell hit her as though it were a tidal wave, causing her to gag and slap a hand to her mouth. Opening the door completely, a horrific sight met Elizabeth’s eyes. Professor de Bard was indeed in this room – and he was dead.
Elizabeth backed from the room and onto the landing, tripping upon the moth-eaten rug and falling backwards to the floor with a crash. A strangled cry left her mouth as she stared transfixed at the sight before her. The Professor lay on the floor, his blank eyes staring unseeingly at the ceiling. His skin was white, and he had begun to decompose in the days he had been left in his house. Flies buzzed around his body aggressively, and the smell of rotting flesh filled the room causing Elizabeth to retch upon the